Us

          Us is the second film from Jordan Peele, the writer and director of Get Out which he won an Oscar for, and stars Lupita N'yongo, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, and Elizabeth Moss. The Story takes place in California where a family begins to settle into their summer home which they do every year. The mother, Adelaide, is on edge about the place and becomes even more anxious after a beach trip turns fearful for her. That night, as the family is settling into bed, Jason, the son, tells his parents that there is a strange family standing out in their driveway. The father goes out to investigate and, after some negotiations, eventually provokes the idea of getting violent. The strange family then begins to make their way into the house as the Wilson's try to fend them off, but they break their way in. The Wilson's are eventually trapped in the living room and, once they get a closer look at their assaulters, are shocked and confused as they realize that the terrorizers look just like them.
          I loved Peele's previous film Get Out so I was naturally excited to see how he would do on his sophomore attempt. I knew that he was interested in a politically metaphorical center so I made sure to go into the theater with this in mind. He doesn't disappoint on that aspect, but my favorite aspect about Peele's films, that was also in Get Out, is the absurd level of mind f***. Peele has established that he loves crafting crazy, eccentric plots and he's made his place as one of the most original writers in Hollywood because of it. I could tell that every line of dialogue, every shot, and even the clothing choices was carefully crafted and thought about beforehand. He cares deeply about the execution and it shows.
          I feel as though I can't really say anything else out of fear of spoiling, but just know that this film's plot goes absolutely crazy, and that's saying something since it was crazy from the start. My only issue was that I noticed that once the doppelgangers show up at the house, the film felt like it had a difficult time finding some footing and direction like it was confused as to where it was going. I only say this because it takes a while for the film to start revealing more plot details and I fear that some people would be bored at this point. It does pick up eventually, and it mercilessly holds you until its bizarre ending. 
          One of my favorite sights to see is when a group of people are discussing the movie they just saw out in the theater lobby. I remember when I was walking out of a screening of Annihilation last year and it was midnight when the movie got out. I was a bit giddy to see that there were multiple groups of people probably pissing off the theater staff as they stayed just to talk about the movie. I think one of the biggest successes a movie can have is if it doesn't leave a person's mind right after seeing it. If you're still thinking about it and talking about it the day after, then the movie did its job. I saw this same thing happen while walking out Us. There were groups of people talking about the film and I wish I could've joined them. I see a lot of films by myself, but it still makes me happy to see that a movie can dig itself in your head because of how thought-provoking it was.
          If I had to compare both of Peele's film then I would say that Get Out is the slightly better one, but not by much. They're both pretty much on the same level. It wasn't really scary as much as it was fun to watch. The whole time, I was thinking to myself about not how scary it was, but how I couldn't help but admire the craft. Peele is definitely creating a fan base whose hunger for more films needs to be satisfied. Whether he stays with horror forever or adventures into other genres, you can at least expect that you'll be watching something that was cared for since its birth. I might go see Us again since I'm one of those people that loves to analyze movies, but even for a casual movie-goer, I would consider seeking a second viewing. 9/10